first item sold on ebay ever was a broken laser pointer, which marked the beginning of eBay’s success as an online marketplace. In 1995, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar listed the item as a test to see if people would actually buy things online. This first sale sparked the growth of eBay into one of the largest and most well-known e-commerce platforms, where millions of buyers and sellers come together to trade a wide variety of goods, including collectibles, electronics, and clothing.